http://mmajunkie.comA pair of Japanese superstars kicked off DREAM’s welterweight grand prix, while the organization also completed the quarterfinal bracket for its featherweight grand prix.

Those bouts and more were conducted at DREAM.8, held Sunday night at the Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan. The event will air in the U.S. via tape delay April 10 on HDNet.

In the evening’s main event, WAMMA lightweight champion Shinya Aoki (20-4) may have learned his submission-heavy game is best suited in a division below welterweight, as Hayato “Mach” Sakurai (35-8-2) put a quick end to the tournament hopes of “Tobikan Judan.”

Sakurai moved in quickly, though Aoki ducked under “Mach,” brought him to the mat, and moved into top position. But Aoki was unable to secure any sort of advantage from the spot, and Sakurai swept to top position. With Aoki trapped in the corner and wedged underneath his foe, Sakurai unleashed four knees to the skull and a flurry of punches that ended the fight in rapid, dramatic fashion.

Aoki was out cold just 27 seconds into the contest.

An emotionally charged Sakurai has now won three-straight contests, while Aoki’s welterweight defeat should serve as notice of a necessary return to the lightweight division.

Looking to rebound from the first loss of his career at January’s Affliction card, Jason High (7-1) did so in emphatic fashion.

Overwhelming Yuya Shirai (15-8) with a series of left hands shortly after the opening bell, High charged in quickly to his downed opponent. Shirai tried to recover from the initial onslaught, but a deep rear-naked choke form High ensured that would not be the case.

High continued to squeeze the choke, calmly remaining in the hold. Shirai refused to tap, and was saved by the ref when his body went limp just 59 seconds into the contest. In his first appearance in Japan, High impressively moves on to the welterweight grand prix semifinals.

Zaromskis and Ikemoto entertain; Galvao continues impressive run

When middleweight Marius Zaromskis (9-2) opened his bout with Seichi Ikemoto (18-15-5) with a flying spinning back-kick, it was obvious the matchup was going to have some interesting moments. What could not have been known was that the moments would last the entire 15-minute bout.

The two traded blows all over the ring, and Ikemoto chased Zaromskis with two-handed axe punches as he tried to evade. Wild blows in the forms of punches, kicks and everything in between were offered by both combatants. The pace was maintained throughout the contest, in moments reminiscent of Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar – neither fighter willing to back down, neither fighter willing to fall.

The second round saw more of the same, but Zaromskis began to pull away as Ikemoto’s energy waned. A standing backward somersault guard pass attempt by Zaromskis brought cheers, but it was a flurry in the closing seconds that left little doubt as to the result. Zaromskis earned the unanimous decision in one of the more entertaining – while not necessarily overwhelmingly technical – bouts in recent months.

Zaromskis picks up his second-straight win en route to the grand prix semifinals, while Ikemoto loses for the first time in six bouts.

The welterweight grand prix kicked off with a bout between Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Andre Galvao (3-0) and Xtreme Couture’s John Alessio (24-13). While “The Natural” did his best to avoid the slick ground game of Galvao, the task proved to be impossible.

Wrestling Alessio to the ground from the clinch, Galvao moved immediately to the back. Alessio worked hard to defend the rear-naked choke, but Galvao simply transitioned to an arm bar attempt.

Alessio kept his arms locked, trying to withstand the full extension. But the power of Galvao worked the arm free as Alessio tried to roll to an escape. In obvious pain, Alessio tapped repeatedly at 7:34 of the first round.

Galvao is now undefeated in his first three MMA contests, while Alessio has now dropped two-straight.

The featherweight contest between Daiki “DJ.taiki” Hata (11-5-3) and Hideo Tokoro (21-16-1) was set to determine the final quarterfinalist of the grand prix started at DREAM.7. And as so often with featherweights contests, the two Japanese products did not fail to put on an impressive show.

High-paced throughout, Hata took control of the contest in the early going, but Tokoro never shied away from the battle. A flurry in the second stanza cut Hata, and the wound warranted a quick doctor’s check. But the battle went on, and Hata cruised to the unanimous decision win.

Haka, who will join seven other competitors in the second round of the DREAM featherweight grand prix, ran his unbeaten streak to five bouts, while Tokoro has dropped three-straight.

The heavyweight contest between top-20 fighters Jeff Monson (30-8) and Sergei Kharitonov (16-4) brought an old-school “striker vs. grappler” feel. The in-ring action and result echoed the same old-school vibe.

Monson appeared to be in a bit of early trouble, as an unsuccessful takedown attempt left the grappler on his back. Monson powered out and reversed the situation, quickly passing to a North-South position and sinking in a deep choke. Kharitonov offered a few soft punches to the back of Monson’s head before tapping out at 1:42 of the opening frame.

Monson has now won six-straight contests, including three in the past three weeks, while Kharitonov loses for the first time in 4 bouts.

Late replacement fighters are supposed to gas. One-day-notice replacements aren’t supposed to have a chance. Riki Fukuda (14-4), who stepped in on extremely late notice to face Murilo “Ninja” Rua (16-10-1), didn’t get the memo.

In an early “Fight of the Night” candidate, the two stood toe-to-toe throughout the 15-minute affair. Fukuda opened as the surprising aggressor, but Rua battled back with several shots of his own. A cut over Fukuda’s right eye became a concern in the first round, but it became apparent the wound would not cause an issue.

Both fighters took turns scoring with heavy shots and winded arms throughout the two rounds. With time running out in the fight, picking a winner was a near impossibility. Sensing the need, Fukuda dug deep and blasted away on Rua. “Ninja” was rocked, but continued to press forward to the final bell.

In the end, the performance by both fighters was courageous, but Fukuda earned the unanimous nod with the final flurry.

Fukuda has now won four-straight contests, while Rua, returning to Japan for the first time in three years, has now lost two consecutive bouts.
Ribeiro returns to prior form; Shibata upsets “Minowaman”

In his first bout in 19 months, Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro (20-2) appeared as if he hardly missed a beat.

While Katsuhiko Nagata (4-5-1) hardly provided the sternest test of the Nova Uniao fighter’s career, Ribeiro remained patient in methodically dismantling his opponent. After a brief stretch on the feet, “Shaolin” shot in and pulled guard, then quickly swept to top position. From there the end was increasingly inevitable, though the final moments may not have been foreseeable.

Working freely from dominant position to dominant position, Ribeiro looked for the evening’s final hold, but an opening for knee strikes presented itself. “Shaolin” obliged, and a huge gash immediately gushed blood from Nagata’s head.

Doctors rushed in to check the huge wound, but the bout was waved off almost immediately at the 7:58 mark.

The win is Ribeiro’s first since a 35-second TKO to Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante in 2007, while Nagata remains winless in his past four contests.

After dropping his pro debut, Brazilian Andrews Nakahara (2-1) looked to earn a second-straight win in his bout with Shungo Oyama (7-12). Nakahara would reach his goal, but the win came in the oddest of manners.

Nakahara opened with a series of stinging low kicks, but Oyama closed the distance and dropped for a rolling knee bar on two separate occasions. Neither attempt was successful, and the second was downright destructive.

Oyama appeared to strike his head on the mat as he dropped, and Nakahara pulled back on a soccer kick to the head as his Japanese opponent woozily returned to his knees. After assessing the situation briefly, Nakahara moved in with a quick series of punches that forced the stoppage at 2:00 of the opening frame.

The evening’s opening bout between Japanese fighters Katsuyori Shibata (3-6-1) and Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa (41-30-8) started slowly, but quickly became a war of attrition.

A 15-minute affair, little separated the two combatants for the majority of the contest. Minowa appeared to outwrestle his less-experienced opponent for much of the affair, but the performance was hardly convincing. As the fight’s closing minutes rolled on, the uber-veteran – who would seem to have the advantage in such a test of character – instead folded to the pressure.

Shibata picked up the pace in the final seconds, slamming Minowa to the mat with an impressive German suplex before finishing out the fight on the back of “Minowaman.” The final series undoubtedly left a stern impression in the minds of the judges, and though Minowa had been effective in stretches, he was never close to ending the fight.

Shibata earned the fight on all three judges’ cards – his first win in eight contests.

The Latest

In this week’s Trading Shots, Danny Downes and Ben Fowlkes look at Ronda Rousey’s 34-second victory over Bethe Correia at UFC 190 and try to put it into terms that capture the moment without getting swept away by it.

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

The man known for cranking submissions to the point of injury added eye-gouging to his repertoire. But is the controversy of Rousimar Palhares too essential to his bizarre, awful appeal for his employers to take any meaningful action against him?